Smash & Grab Poems. by Ryan Quinn Flanagan

                               Publisher
                            Weasel Press


For anyone who is a fan of Ryan's work they will always come to expect his fast style and sharp humor once is definitely his trademark and has  drawn so many to his pages over the years.

But what impresses me so very often is a haunting quality and great observations my friend puts into so many writes in this fine collection.

As always the titles jump from the page.
Such as to name a few.
I Am Not Bruce Lee, but I Could Probably Kick Your Ass, once always impresses me with how easily he comes up with such great titles.

To others such as.
You Look like Late Stage Syphilis in a Bathing Suit.

Once if the titles alone don't grab you the lines certainly will.

This book is packed with twists and turns humor abound and heart.
Smash and grab poems is not simply a good book.
It is a great book and one that holds the readers attention to the end.

To one of my favorite poems in this collection Pier Review.
Ryan displays what what few poets can deliver and he does with ease.

And as I am sure upon writing this Ryan is probably finishing up yet another collection to show that he is nowhere near slowing down.

Smash And Grab Poems is a great display of a writer that can take the page wherever he does so choose to go.

And and as a reader it is also a pleasure to tag along for the ride this book is well worth the purchase.

And if you have somehow not read Ryan's work before  then this would certainly be one hell of a introduction.

But seeing how this talented writer has probably penned more damn poems than any other writer I know I truly doubt few have who love poetry have not stumbled upon his work by now.


Smash And Grab Poems is available on Amazon.

Please do yourself a favor and pick up yourself up  a copy today.

There are many poets out there but none are as  prolific or damn talented as the man I am honored to call a friend.


Smash And Grab Poems.
Is one hell of a book from truly one hell of a writer.


Keep drinking and reading.


John Patrick Robbins


https://www.amazon.com/Smash-Grab-Poems-Quinn-Flanagan/dp/1948712091

Smoking At The Gas Pumps . Review By Todd Cirillo

Soma Publishing  

To start off with, Smoking at the Gas Pumps (Soma Publishing, 2018) is a killer title and one that creates a clear and clean visual for the reader; that is both intriguing and entrancing with a shot of danger. This is also accomplished, to the same effect, in the best poems of John Patrick Robbins’ latest book. Not every poem accomplishes this, but that does not mean it is not a wonderful collection from a relevant force in modern poetry. It simply means that his barroom, drinking alone, I don’t get along with people, poems have been widely written about and received their rightful praise in many other reviews. For me, the most powerful poems in this book are the ones when the poet allows the poem and experience to just be alone on the page, much like the writer may have been when he wrote it. This allows the story, the emotion and the core feelings to shine through naturally. Most importantly, they are poems of connection. They are poems such as: Exit Wounds, People are Different, Writers are Worse, Already a Stranger in the Making, We All Eventually, Burbank, Role Reversal, Escape Route, Crack is Cheap, So was She. 

What sets these and others apart is the vulnerability Robbins allows to take over the poems. What makes them most interesting and enthralling is that, though the subject matter may be the same as his barroom poems, the style with which he lets the poems flow give the reader a direct arrow shot to the heart. In these poems, Robbins does not tell the reader what to do, how to live or what his life is like…he shows them. He lets the images lead the reader. That is where a connection occurs. The poems let us feel how alone he really is in a life lived like “time capsules of poor choices.” No matter how tough many of the poems are, the toughest have the most tender connections between their subjects; he and his mother (We All Eventually), he and a lover in bed at the end of love (Crack is Cheap, So was She), the theft of a book by a critic (People are Different, Writers are Worse) or is just an observer (Burbank). 

In these particular poems he writes the simple lines where his talent and the entire poem come together as in, “she whispered in my ear/are you okay?/I’m alive sweetheart how about you?/better now/“ (Crack is Cheap, So was She) or “some things were never meant to be taken away/I love you mom/sincerely your son.” (We All Eventually). 

I recommend buying this book, wholeheartedly. It is good to have Smoking at the Gas Pumps out in the poetry world, a welcome addition of honesty, guts, and grit where John Patrick Robbins “captured the stories one glance at a time” and wrote them down for all of us to connect with.

--Todd Cirillo, poet, publisher, Six Ft. Swells Press

"The news is bad today, in America and for America. There is nothing good or hopeful about it--except for Nazis, warmongers, and rich greedheads" HST

Where Angels Fear. by Wayne Russell

                       Soma Publishing 


Wayne Russell can easily be described as the poet's poet. 

From the beginning his work is a unflinching look at a life lived hard .
Russell doesnt sugar coat anything.

From personal demons to the loss of loved ones to even the struggle of being homeless.

He bleeds everything into his pages once is quality I greatly admire in a writer.

From poems such as .
Alone In A Room , once tells the truth of addiction .

And others like.
When Lonliness Calls , once displays such courage to bare ones soul .

This is not good work this is great work .

Wayne's style to me is almost confessional poetry and it displays a willingness to bare all without fear of judgement .

Art is never safe and make no mistake this is art at it's finest.

Wayne Russell hasn't simply written a good book he has paid the price of the pains of this life and created a great book .

I highly recommend everyone pick up a copy today.

You certanly will not regret it.
As Russell can show us all just when we think the best lines have all been written in the past.

There comes writers like Wayne Russell to blow others out of the water .


Please get yourself a copy using the link 
below .




https://www.somapublishing.com/2018/12/where-angels-fear.html?m=1